Two of three local races uncontested in fall

Four vying for five seats on Marble Cliff Village Council

Marble Cliff might be the smallest component of the Tri-Village area, but it'll have the area's hottest ballot come November.

Five candidates have filed to run for four Village Council seats in the Nov. 5 election.

Meanwhile, the races for Grandview Heights City Council and the Grandview school board will be unopposed.

Village Council incumbents Matt Cincione, Jack Kukura and Linda Siefkas will seek re-election, while former Grandview City Council member Dow Voelker and first-time political candidate Joanne Taylor also will run.

Council President David Roark decided against running again.

Cincione will seek his fourth term.

"I enjoy being part of the community and trying to help govern the village by serving on council," he said. "We've had some lean years in the village, but we seem to be coming out of the recession. I want to help make sure we handle our budget the right way."

Cincione is a partner in the Butler, Cincione and DiCuccio law firm.

Siefkas is completing her first term on council.

"As a business owner myself, I feel I have a lot more I can do to support the village as we continue on our path to regain a healthy tax base," she said. "We've turned the corner. It's nice to see the 'sold' and 'fully leased' signs on commercial buildings around the village."

Siefkas owns Siefkas Public Relations.

Taylor is a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband have four children and two foster children.

"I love where we live. This community is a great place to raise a family," she said. "I want to do my part to help keep it a wonderful community for families. I also want to make sure we maintain our strong relationship with Grandview Heights."

Voelker served on Grandview City Council in the 1990s and said now that his children have gotten older, he once again has a desire to "give something back to the community."

"There's no hot issue that I feel needs to be addressed," he said. "We don't have any controversial issues in the village. I just want to serve this community that I love."

Voelker is a real-estate attorney.

Kukura, who has served on council since June 2007, was unavailable for comment.

He is chief of acquisitions for Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing.

City Council

While four seats are in play on Grandview Heights City Council, Anthony Panzera is the only incumbent running for re-election.

Council President Steve Reynolds, Susan Jagers and P'Elizabeth Koelker have decided not to run.

Greta Kearns, Stephen Papineau and Chris Smith will take their places on the ballot.

Panzera is completing his third term on council.

"Things are going well in the city and we are seeing our economic viability improving," he said. "We have a lot of projects under way. I've enjoyed the past 12 years on council and want to continue to contribute to the community."

Panzera is a real-estate agent with Celeste & Associates and a property owner and manager.

Kearns said she believes her professional experience and qualifications will serve her well on council.

"I wanted to run because I love this community and was looking for a way to give back to the community," she said.

An attorney with Squire Sanders, Kearns said she has experience representing both private and public clients and also represented the state of Ohio during her stint as an assistant attorney general.

Papineau is president of Shelby Management, a real-estate investment firm.

"I wanted to get more involved in the community by serving on council," he said. "It seemed like the next logical step. I'm a member of the Grandview Chamber of Commerce board and served on its economic development committee. I'm also a member of the city's board of zoning appeals."

Smith could not be reached for comment for this story.

School board

Three board seats divided by three announced candidates equals an uncontested race this fall for the Grandview Heights school board.

Incumbents Grant Douglass and Katie Clifford have filed as candidates. Former Grandview Heights High School principal Jesse Truett is the third candidate.

Board member John Kessler decided not to run for re-election.

Douglass is completing his first term on the board. He has served as board president since January 2012.

He is the chief operating officer at Hanlin Ranaldi Construction.

Clifford also is seeking election to her second term. She serves as the board's vice president.

Clifford is a partner with Schuster & Clifford LLP. The firm focuses on preventive education law for higher-education institutions.

Truett served as the principal of Grandview High School from 2008-11. He resigned as principal, citing health and personal reasons, and later acknowledged that early in his teaching career he had a long-term romantic relationship with a student from another district who was 18 when the relationship began.

Truett currently works as senior director, performance management, for the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools.